In the early 1970s, the British Army ran a secret undercover unit. Its existence was officially deniable and its tactics were so controversial that the unit was disbanded after just 14 months.
In this Panorama Report broadcast on the BBC on 21st November 2013 three of the unit’s former members break their silence and talk candidly to journalist John Ware. In their view they “took the war to the IRA, sometimes even imitating the IRA itself”.
The documentary provides first hand evidence that the unit operated outside the law and gives insight into the amoral military logic operating here in the early 70’s when state murder was legitimised. According to the BBC website the British Ministry of Defence has referred Panorama’s allegations to the police.
There will be a Q & A after the film with Sean Wallace, the grandson of Gerry Conway who was shot by the undercover unit and whose story is one of a number that features in the film.